In Austria’s National Parliament, a single empty chair can set an entire room in motion. That is exactly what happened after Axel Kassegger of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) stepped down, leaving his colleagues to shuffle across the chamber in a quiet game of musical chairs.
According to a notice on the Austrian Parliament’s website, several FPÖ members had to leave their familiar spots in the Hohen Haus, as the chamber is affectionately known. Kassegger’s exit, it turned out, was not a small ripple but a wave that reached the front row.
Into this rearranged room steps a new face; Hedwig Staller, a 53 year old from Styria. As is so often the case for newcomers, she has begun her journey at the very back, in the last row, with the whole chamber stretched out before her.
Walter Rosenkranz, the First President of the National Parliament, also felt the change. His seat has been moved, and he now sits in the first row beside Dagmar Belakowitsch, the party’s social affairs spokeswoman. It is a small change of scenery for a man who spends his days guiding the house through its debates.
Kassegger’s departure left one more gap to fill: that of the FPÖ’s “Ordner.” Here the party’s lawmakers showed rare harmony, choosing Gernot Darmann of Carinthia by unanimous vote.
The title may sound modest, yet the job is far from minor. Each parliamentary party has at least one Ordner, who supports the National Council President in leading the proceedings and helps keep peace and order in the chamber. Perhaps their most important duty is to register their group’s speakers, making sure every voice is heard when its turn comes.
And so, after a morning of moving names and shifting seats, the chamber settles once more. The benches are full, the roles are filled, and the business of governing goes on, just from slightly different places.
